Spend time reading and rereading and taking note of Gal 5:1-15
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself.”15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Questions:
How would you classify Paul’s tone of voice in his writing here?
Why do you think he was so passionate?
Things to reflect on:
If we could witness Paul speaking these words, I can only imagine him speaking from the top of his lungs and spit flying from his mouth as he seems so intense in this passage. Why so serious….??? Because this is a huge deal. Circumcision is the cutting off of extra skin on the male organ which symbolized that you were a member of God’s chosen people (the Jews). What has happened is that Jews are telling new believers that they have to follow their traditions and laws to be “true” believers in God. Paul is saying they are missing the point. It has always been about faith expressing itself through love. Thus, Paul wants them to emasculate themselves (cut off their male organ completely)…OUCH! He is saying that just because you do an action that seems to follow a law or tradition, doesn’t mean that you have a relationship with God. Today we don’t have the same issue of circumcision. However, we do see people sharing that you just have to be a good person. Or you just have to go to church and read your Bible. Those things mean nothing unless you have a relationship with Christ. Those things are intended to help you grow in your relationship not to be the reason why you have a relationship.
Spend some Time praying to see how this works out in your life
Monday: Pray for your relationship with God
Confess your sins to Jesus and pray for forgiveness and a changed heart
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Why do you say "extra" skin? It's standard equipment. Today we do sometimes have the same issue with circumcision, with some people saying "It's in the Bible" "God said to do it" and "Jesus was circumcised"! (Should we get crucified too?) So it is good to see blogs like yours setting them straight. We have other issues with circumcision, with many false claims about hygiene, diseases, appearance, sexuality, and more - the operation seems to have a mystique unconnnected to reality.
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